The DH and I, being the good geeks we are, marshalled our considerable geeky forces and were first and second in line for the official release of iPhone 3G in Denmark. While we weren’t the very first ones to receive theirs, as Telia shops in Copenhagen opened at midnight for sales, we were among the first in our little town of Randers, pop. approx. 60k, established approx. 1100 AD or so. (Have I ever mentioned that my new town of residence is far older than the country I was born and raised in, by about 500 years?! Boggles the mind sometimes. Anyway…)

So, after waking up the birds, and being on the very first bus, we arrived at our destination and were pleased to find that we topped the line. In fact, we made the line, which was quite entertaining. We got the pleasure of watching the town wake up, street sweepers and early morning delivery men dropping off their goods, the bakeries and cafes straggling open a couple of hours later, it was really kind of cool. We even got to watch the sun rise over the City Hall where the DH and I exchanged ‘jas’ a little over a year ago. Brings back some lovely memories. *sighs* But, I digress.

At about 5:30 am we took our spot, then proceeded to wait. Slowly we were joined by other folks, and chatting ensued, though unfortunately for me much of it was in danish, so I didn’t pay too much attention. I did end up having a nice conversation with another iPhone devotee, discussing politics, religion, and the upcoming election, Obama and Hillary, and our experiences as citizens of our respective countries. She works at (runs, owns, could be all of the above) a local bookstore, and has strong opinions about the upcoming presidential contest. I enjoyed the time, the conversation, and hope to run into her again. All in all, the wait ended up being very pleasant and stress-free, with much camaraderie and no one acting like petulant children denied their favorite toy.

Then, at 10 am on the nose, Danish time, they began ushering us into the sacred walls of the Telia shop to worship at the altar of iPhone. Perhaps that, in itself, is where the problem began. Besides the usual stinginess in availability of said desired product, it seems the shops didn’t quite plan for the response they were receiving for the new toy. Computers began running slow, and it was about 40 minutes before the DH and I walked out with our prizes – bright, shiny new iPhones, one white and one black (so we don’t mix them up) – waving them to those who didn’t take the diehard geekfan route and queue up at the buttcrack of dawn. Then we headed home, only rushing slightly, as if to say that we didn’t really have to hurry, as we had what we came for. But of course, what good is a toy without the batteries? We started working on getting them set up, and ran into a problem. A small issue, but one with rather large implications for our immediate enjoyment of the new phones. It seems that Telia, still forgetting the potential response, didn’t set up the sim cards for immediate activation. So, we have to wait up to 48 HOURS before the card will be activated. Umm… WTF?!? Who came up with this bright idea?

In the meantime, the DH and I are having a bit of fun setting up our phones, and anxiously looking forward to the time when we have activated sim cards, and can actually call them iPhones… rather than iPod touches. Let’s cross our fingers for soon, shall we? All together now… 😀

Just back from a shopping trip to the Århus IKEA. Now, don’t get me wrong… I love IKEA. Love it in a special way, because of all the goodies lurking, and the flat-packed boxes that turn into fun furniture with some sweat and tools, and the occasional curse because I’m not really inclined to work with my hands that way. But why is it that I must be assaulted by hordes of screaming children when I go to spend some of the DH’s hard-earned kroner on parts and pieces for our little home?!?!?1!!! Honestly… take a perfectly good shopping trip, in a store the size of a small town, that carries pretty much any and everything you could ever want, and serves you tasty swedish meatballs, then add screeching kids screaming for whatever toy or stuffie they’ve just passed, or screaming because they want a nap, or a meatball… you’ve just ruined that perfectly good shopping trip, faster than I can say WTF mate?!? You think I jest? Not bloody likely!

I understand that IKEA is a hard place to resist, and even here the consumerist culture is taking hold (thanks in no small part to the very same IKEA that I hold dear to my heart) and so must be fed from time to time… and a shopping trip can be a fine family outing, checking out all the pretty or interesting things, talking about how you might redo your family room like you’ve been thinking of, the kids happily testing bean bags and bunk beds as you eye that lovely set of sturdy yet still beautiful cabinets that could really refresh your kitchen while the significant other finds the perfect couch for the family room… But must everyone else then be subjected to the pivotal time when the kids go from having fun to just wanting to go home, the parents are still deep in shopping mode, and the kids then do the only thing they know definitely works when they want attention – scream at the top of their little lungs?

Have you ever noticed just how loud a child can get? Today, there was one kid, I swear, at the OTHER end of the store, wailing fit to beat the band, and sounding like he was standing right next to me with a megaphone pointed at my eardrum… If you know how big IKEAs can be, then you know that when I say OTHER end, I don’t mean a few meters away…

Anyway, all this makes me wonder… Are parents of small kids so addicted to getting out of the house that they forget that others might be hoping for a bit of peace as they browse the shops or stroll around, or do they really feel an overwhelming urge to make others suffer when their kids throw tantrum, as if to say ‘Don’t you wish you could have one too?’ Or maybe it’s a warning… ‘Be careful, or you could be as lucky as we are.’ eep

Ah, gentle readers, you might be wondering why it appears I’m writing for 3 weeks at a time. Well, a simple answer… summer vacation! Yes, even those of us attending weight loss meetings get a summer vacation, at least from the meetings. Which, in this case, will also include weighings. So, as we have eschewed a scale in our home as a tool of the Devil, we will not be weighed for the next few weeks. However, to show that we are still committed to the process, and filling out our daily food logs and whatnot, we did measurements this week, and will also do them the last week of vacation, to help monitor our progress. Then, of course, the DH and I will let you know what the results of 3 weeks of self-discipline have wrought, at least according to the scale

So far, I’ve lost 17 cm, approximately 6.75 inches in all. Not too bad for eating more like a bear than a bird. The DH (lucky duck he is) has lost 20 cm, approximately 7-75 inches in all. *sighs* The endless battle continues, but I guess it’s to be expected, since he is a guy. I could go on about the fairness, or lack thereof, of that, but I won’t. 😀

We’re still working out recipes, which I will be posting in the next week or so, I promise. It takes a while to adapt some of our prior meals into a more healthy, weight-reduction-encouraging fare, but we’re working on it diligently. We figure it’s better to have the food we like fitting into the new regime, as it will (hopefully) keep down the cravings and ‘sinning‘ via McDonald’s or the local chocolate shoppe. ‘Sinning’ is what our group called wandering off the diet path. I think of it as almost a necessary evil, just to stay sane at certain times, but still best to be avoided as much as possible. All I can say is, I’m really glad God doesn’t have a weight limit in Heaven… just in case. ;=D

Ok, weigh-in time, end of week 3. But first, this disclaimer: All numbers are after an incredible weekend spent celebrating the DH’s best friend’s wedding, which included copious amounts of food and drink, almost no sleep, and a slightly off-the-plan hangover remedy. We did manage to get ourselves back on track on Monday though, so it’s not all bad. 😀

Details so far:

Weight – 113.7 kilograms
Weight lost to date – 4 kilos (8.8 pounds)

So, not quite as exciting as before, but still downward movement on the scale, which is what counts. I’m a kilo shy of my first goal, but I am proud to announce that the DH has reached his first 5 goal this week, even with all the wedding debauchery. Three cheers for him!!! *beams*

Another week begins, here’s hoping I hit my goal at the next weigh-in, which will be in 3 weeks (summer holiday for the weight loss people). I’ll let you know what happens. We will be updating our measurements in a week or so, please stay tuned…